


The Things That Bind Us

by the_13th_battalion



Series: Zuko Gets Hugs [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hugs, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Nightmares, POV Toph Beifong, Protective Toph, Protectiveness, Toph Beifong and Zuko are Siblings, Toph Being Awesome, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Zuko Gets a Hug, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, and zuko says ok, because it wouldn't be one of my fics without them, did I mention zuko's a heater in this one too, it's literally just them the whole time, obligatory find-out-about-the-scar fic, ozai is mean and doesn't deserve the sunshine that is zuko, that's it that's the fic, they're my kids and I love them, toph says heck im your family now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:14:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24826636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_13th_battalion/pseuds/the_13th_battalion
Summary: Toph knew she’d get a field trip eventually. She just had to bide her time and choose the right moment.That moment came when—and how—she least expected it.
Relationships: Toph Beifong & Zuko
Series: Zuko Gets Hugs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813720
Comments: 45
Kudos: 968





	The Things That Bind Us

**Author's Note:**

> I was rewatching book 3 and I suddenly had this great desire for a Toph and Zuko fic so here we are

Toph would never consider herself the type to hold a grudge. Not against a friend, anyway. There were certainly times she thought about it, but none had ever stuck. She’d much rather settle it in the moment.

So maybe she was a little bitter that everyone else had gone on a life changing field trip with Zuko and she hadn’t. But hold a grudge against Zuko? It never crossed her mind.

She trusted him. She knew there was more to him than he ever let on, than any of the others bothered to see. She had woken enough times to the vibrations in the earth from his trembling body and felt the heat of his panicked breaths. She always detected the slight shift to a defensive position when someone raised their voice. She remembered every word his uncle had told her, too. She had already vowed to herself a hundred times over that she would protect that stupid, awkward, lanky boy.

Toph knew she’d get a field trip eventually. She just had to bide her time and choose the right moment.

That moment came when—and how—she least expected it.

The house on Ember Island sat empty, aside from Toph, who dozed on a pile of blankets and pillows in a common room. Katara and Suki had gone into town to collect some supplies—she hadn’t bothered to ask what specifically. Sokka and Aang had gone fishing.

That left the big house to her and Zuko. They could have gone along with either group, but Toph hadn’t quite woken up yet and Zuko claimed he wanted time to train alone.

He had been at it for an hour, at least. Even from her position inside, Toph felt the rhythm of Zuko’s katas. He practiced just outside the door, using the open space in front of the house. At first, she had appreciated the consistency of his movements, their repetition almost rocking her back to sleep. Now, his rapid changes in form were beginning to grate on her nerves.

She huffed as he switched again. _Does this boy ever sit down and relax?!_ She rolled over in her nest and tried to return to the depths of her daydreams. She could still feel him moving without her feet on the ground, the power behind his steps coursing through the earth.

Toph was seriously considering shouting to him to stop stomping when she detected another shift in form. It caught her off guard. _Is he…trying to water bend?_

Curious and a little annoyed, she stood and marched outside. The door swung out and banged into the wall with the force she used. Zuko jumped and froze mid-kata, whipping his head to look at her.

She scowled, more at herself than him. _You gotta be more careful with those doors._

“Oh…hey, Toph,” Zuko said awkwardly, shifting to a standing position, “What is it?”

Toph’s expression darkened. She hated his hunched shoulders and his racing pulse. She hated the way it almost sounded like ‘what did I do?’ instead of ‘what is it?’.

He wrung his hands in front of him. He waited for her to speak.

She crossed her arms. “I hate to break it to you, but you’re a fire bender, not a water bender.”

“What?!” he spluttered, “I know that!”

“Then why are you trying to water bend?”

“I’m not!”

Toph snorted. “Listen, Smoky, I know water bending when I see it.”

Zuko shook his head. “I was practicing something my uncle taught me, how to redirect lightning. He invented it. It’s inspired by water bending.”

“Oh.” Toph uncrossed her arms and hopped down the steps. “Redirecting lightning, huh? That’s pretty neat.”

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

Toph traced circles in the dirt with her toe. “Sooo, who’s shooting lightning at you?” She laughed and elbowed him in the arm. “Better not be the Father Lord.”

His face flushed. “Well…”

She stiffened. She had meant it as a joke, hoping to lighten the mood and help him relax, effectively ignoring the possibility that it could be Ozai. Of course, she wouldn’t put it past the guy to blast lightning at his own child, but that didn’t make the realization any easier to process.

“Hold on,” she said, “You’re telling me that your dad shot lightning at you?”

Zuko fidgeted, twisting his fingers in a way that must not have been comfortable. “He did. When I left to join you.”

Toph’s shoulders slumped. “Whoa, Sparky…”

“It’s okay!” He spoke in a rush. “I was able to redirect it. He didn’t hurt me.”

“Hmph. He didn’t hurt you _that_ time.”

Zuko tensed up tighter.

Toph pressed on. “I mean, it’s not like he’s ever really cared that much about you, right?”

A tremor ran through Zuko’s thin limbs. His pulse fluttered erratically.

Toph sighed and mentally smacked herself. _Way to go. That’s how you start a conversation with someone about their messed up life._

“Wait, I’m sorry,” she started, “I shouldn’t have gone there. I gotta stop being so blunt about everything.”

“No, it’s okay.” Zuko’s hushed, raspy tone did little to reassure her. “How did- how do you know?”

Toph shrugged, drawing more circles in the earth. “I dunno, I just figured that’s what you have nightmares about.”

Zuko’s breath hitched. “Y-you know about- How?!”

“Sizzles, I’m blind, not deaf,” she deadpanned.

“Oh. Right.” He wrung his hands so hard she thought his fingers would pop out of place. “I’m sorry. I try to be quiet, I really do.”

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize for something you can’t control! It’s not like you choose to have nightmares. They just happen.”

Zuko snorted. “I wish I _did_ have control over them.”

“Well, we can’t all get what we want,” Toph replied sardonically.

“I guess not.”

A tense silence stretched out between them. Zuko shifted from one foot to the other, his hands fisting into the front of his shirt and twisting the material. Toph stood rigidly, the gears of her mind turning in double time.

_Come on, Toph! Say something to him!_

“My dad sent some guys after me when I left to join this group.”

A ripple of shock went through Zuko. “He did?”

“Uh-huh. A big muscly guy from this competition I used to fight in, and my old bending teacher. They threw me in a metal box. Not fun, except that I bent out anyway. That part was fun!”

She flopped on the ground and rested her elbows on her knees. “See, the problem with my dad is that he’s always been super protective. You’d think I’d appreciate that, but his affection is suffocating. He’s overbearing. He thinks I’m helpless, even after I proved I’m not! He’ll do anything to get me back home so he can trap me there forever.”

Zuko sat across from her, inching closer. “I guess I have the opposite problem. My father hates me. He would do anything to keep me from coming home. I didn’t realize that at first, but I know that now.

“That was always one of Azula’s favorite taunts. But I had my mother, and my uncle, and my older cousin. It hurt that my father didn’t love me or accept me the way he did to Azula, but I still had family.”

He drew his knees to his chest and hugged his legs. “Then my cousin died. Then Azula told me Father planned to kill me. Then my mother left. Father told me he banished her. I don’t even know if she’s alive or not. Uncle did his best to protect me in her place, but he was still hurting so much, and I could hardly blame him.”

“Whoa, whoa! Back up!” Toph cried, “Your dad was going to kill you?!”

Zuko shrugged. “Yeah. He confirmed it when I left on the Day of Black Sun. I tried to convince myself Azula was just lying, but I think a part of me always knew it was true.”

Toph’s stomach swirled uncomfortably. “How old were you?”

“I don’t know… Nine? Ten?”

“What, were death threats so common that you forgot what year that one happened?”

Zuko shrugged again. “Azula would sometimes come into my room and threaten me. She thought it would help her win Father's favor or something. She brought a knife once. And my father used to threaten banishment long before he actually did banish me.”

Toph scooted forward and planted her feet on top of Zuko’s own. She was surprised to feel his bare skin. “Hey, Smoky, you gotta stop being so nonchalant about your psycho family.”

Zuko gave her a wry smile. “How else do you recommend I cope with it?”

“Okay, fair point. Could use more sarcasm, though.”

"I'll keep that in mind."

She titled her head, listening to the gentler rhythm of his heart and the smooth cadence of his breathing. Warmth radiated from him, but in cooler tones unlike the panicked intensity of before. He had relaxed to the point Toph no longer worried he would run away.

“So,” she continued, “let me get this straight. Your sister likes to threaten you at knife point and your dad hates your guts and probably still wants you dead.”

He nodded. “That’s pretty much it.”

Toph whistled. “I’ll take my overbearing dad any day. No offense.”

“That’s okay,” Zuko said with a smile, “I’m actually glad someone understands, even just a little bit.”

Toph grinned. “Here for ya, Sparky.”

She hesitated, then she stretched out her hand, palm up. He took it after a pause, his fingers gently curling around her much smaller hand. She gave it a squeeze. He returned it.

“Not to pry,” she asked, “but are your nightmares really about your family?”

Zuko fell silent. If it weren’t for the tremors running down his spine or his warm hand in hers, she might have thought he’d disappeared.

Toph hastily backtracked. “Sorry. You don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready.”

“No, I want to tell you. I trust you.” He took a deep breath. “They’re about my family, yeah. Mostly him. Mostly this.” He touched his face but quickly recoiled, as if his skin had burned him.

Toph frowned. “Is that where your scar is?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

Toph didn’t like what he implied at all. “Did your dad do it?”

Zuko didn’t answer.

Toph tightened her grip on his hand. “That stinks…” Then, she blurted out, “Can I see it?”

Zuko blinked. “No offense, but I don't want your feet on my face.”

She laughed. “No, dummy! With my hands!”

“Oh! Right. Sorry.” He regarded her in silence for a long minute. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

Toph raised her hands and lightly touched them to his cheeks. She traced his jawline with her thumbs, then she slowly moved her hands up his cheeks. Her picture of him became clearer. _Hm. Strong jaw, kinda pointy, and thin cheeks. Always knew he was a string bean._

She continued a little higher. The tip of her finger hit rough, leathery skin. She shifted her hand to the side until she found the edge, touching the bridge of his nose. She followed the edge to the top, into his hairline. She ran her thumb across his forehead, his missing eyebrow, his half lidded eye.

Zuko abruptly snatched her hand and lifted it away from his face. His breaths came shorter and faster. Toph stilled and waited for him to move again. Just as quickly as he had panicked, his grip relaxed and he took a controlled breath.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he muttered hurriedly, “It’s just that…no one has touched it since…”

“I understand,” she answered, “I can stop there if you want.”

“No. I want you to see it.” He guided her hand back to his face and pressed it against his marred skin. “I trust you to see it better than anyone else.”

She donned an uncharacteristically tender smile. He lowered his hand. She moved back up to touch his eye, the edge of her thumb brushing against the corner.

“Can you still see out of this eye?” she wondered.

“Yeah, but not as well.”

“Hm. We have something else in common.”

His lips quirked up. “I guess we do.”

She felt along the side of his face, brushing the tips of her fingers through wild strands of soft hair. She reached his ear and carefully cupped the mutilated cartilage, rubbing her thumb along the top.

“Can you still hear?”

“Again, yes, but not as well.”

“No wonder you’re so jumpy,” she joked.

“You’re not entirely wrong,” he conceded.

Her other hand had been resting on his cheek, but now she dropped it to his shoulder. She brought her right hand close to his eye and held it there against his scarred flesh. For once, Toph was at a loss for words.

“It’s huge,” she finally settled for, “Nobody told me it was practically half your face. No wonder you have nightmares about it. He tortured you.”

Zuko fiddled with the front of his shirt. “Yeah, I-I guess he did.”

Her voice barely rose above a whisper. “Why would he do something so horrible to you?”

His reply sounded automatic. “I spoke out of turn. It wasn’t my place.”

“No, Zuko. Give me your perspective.”

“Oh. Well, uh, I went to my first big war meeting with a lot of important generals. And my father. One of the generals had this idea to use new soldiers as bait. I was sickened, and I thought my father must have been too, so I decided to speak up about it first.

“But he was furious. He said I had been disrespectful and for that, I would have to fight an Agni Kai, a fire bending duel. I was a stupid kid and I thought I could take the general, so I accepted. Later, when I turned, I saw my father instead of the general.”

Toph gaped.

Zuko’s voice wavered. “A-and I refused to fight him. Even after all the pain and fear he had already caused me, I knelt down and refused. B-but he said I was weak and he-”

He squeezed his eyes shut as his chest rattled with suppressed sobs. Tears leaked from underneath his eyelids and traveled down his cheeks, some bumping into Toph’s thumb and gathering in her palm. Her lip quivered and she bit it hard, blinking back tears of her own.

“I never imagined…” She trailed off, her heart aching.

Zuko let out a soft sob, even as he said, “It’s okay.”

Toph shook her head. Then she forced her way into his lap and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. He crossed his legs and hugged her, tear stained face pressed against her head. She clutched his trembling frame and rubbed her hand up and down his back until his breathing evened out.

“Thank you, Toph,” he whispered.

She patted his fluffy hair. “Anytime, Zuko.”

They embraced until the tension in Zuko’s shoulders eased. Toph couldn’t resist his toasty body heat so she sprawled across his lap, one foot on the ground and the other up on her knee. He leaned back and propped himself up on his hands.

She absently bent a clump of dirt into different shapes. “Okay, now that we’ve got the horrible parts of our lives out of the way, let’s talk about something else. What do you like to do for fun?”

Zuko frowned. “Um…nothing.”

Toph rolled her eyes. “Not a good answer! I’ll give you an example. I like to earth bend, obviously, fight people bigger than me, and pick my toes. Okay, your turn.” She jabbed him in the chest with her clump of dirt. “Come on! You’ve gotta have at least one hobby!”

“Um…” He chewed on his lip thoughtfully. “I, uh, I like practicing with my swords. Sokka’s a good sparring partner.”

“That’s good! What else?”

“Uhh… Fire bending is fun, I guess.”

“If your bending wasn’t fun, I’d be concerned.”

Zuko grinned. “Teaching Aang is reminding me how fun it should be, how it should feel… I don’t know.”

“Natural?” Toph offered.

“Yeah. Natural. It’s a part of us and it’s ours to express how we want.”

Toph raised an eyebrow. “Getting a little deep there, Sparkle Fingers.”

Zuko laughed.

“Okay, at least one more thing!”

“Um, I guess I spend a lot of time meditating.”

“Doesn’t count. We all know that already.”

“Oh, okay, um…” Zuko hesitated. “Sometimes I sing with my uncle.”

Toph paused her bending, her curiosity piqued. “You sing? Ha, I should have known! With that flawless complexion and beautiful hair!” She ruffled his hair for emphasis. “Bet you sound like an angel!”

He blushed and looked away. “I-I mean, it was mostly when I was little. I don’t really sing anymore.”

“Nope! No backing out now!” She tossed the dirt aside and folded her hands behind her head. “Sing something, Your Royal Fire Princeliness!”

She felt his pulse quicken and the heat of his reddened cheeks intensified. Toph patted his arm. “Hey, it’s just the two of us. And I won’t tell the others.”

She thought he might still refuse until he began in a soft, hesitant tone.

_“Leaves from the vine_

_Falling so slow_

_Like fragile, tiny shells_

_Drifting in the foam_

_Little soldier boy_

_Come marching home_

_Brave soldier boy_

_Comes marching home.”_

Toph hardly dared to breathe while he sang. She didn’t want to miss a single note of his voice. When he finished, she sighed. “Wow. You’re amazing.”

Zuko shrugged slightly. “Not ex-”

She clapped her hand over his mouth. “Take the compliment, Sparky!” She lowered her hand after a beat.

“Thank you,” he mumbled.

“You’re welcome,” she replied, “Where’s the song from?”

“It’s a popular lullaby in the Fire Nation. Some of my earliest memories are of my uncle singing it to me and my cousin.”

He swallowed forcefully at the mention of his family. Toph didn’t have to see his face to know he had tears in his eyes. _Somebody get this kid back to his uncle._

He steadied himself and asked, “Do you sing at all?”

She snorted. “Ohh, no! You don’t wanna hear me sing! Trust me!”

He smiled. “I’ll take your word for it.”

They passed the rest of the day outside, lounging in the sunshine and sharing stories. They talked about anything and everything until the two of them practically knew each other inside and out. Zuko felt more relaxed than Toph had ever known.

She had never trusted someone with so much of herself. She wouldn’t have chosen anyone else.

They stuck together until the sun slipped below the horizon. They parted ways amidst the ‘goodnight’ calls up and down the hallway.

But it didn’t last long.

The night had barely begun when Toph felt the tremors from the room across the hall. She lay still in bed for a moment, waiting and listening. The instant she heard the first low whine, she sprang out from under her blankets and dashed to Zuko’s room.

She scrambled up beside him on the bed, crawling to his thrashing, shaking figure. The blanket had twisted around his legs. She seized his shoulders and felt cold sweat seeping into the fabric.

He whimpered again and tossed his head. He muttered something she couldn't entirely understand.

“Zuko!” she called, “You're dreaming! Wake up!”

He startled awake with a strangled cry. His chest heaved with each gasping breath. “T-Toph?”

“Yeah, it's me. You were having a nightmare.”

“Oh.” Zuko rubbed the sweat off his forehead. “Thank you for waking me up.”

“No problem.” She sat back, taking her hands off his shoulders. She waited for him while he adjusted the blanket. Then she crashed into his chest and hugged him. “I'm staying here.”

Zuko blinked in surprise, but he didn't argue. Instead, he pulled the blanket over her too and wrapped his arms around her.

Toph curled up and closed her eyes. She listened as, gradually, his breathing evened out and his heart steadied. “Zuko?”

“Hm?”

“I’ve decided you're my brother now, and I’m going to protect you.”

He tightened his hold on her. “I’d like that.”

“Good. Because you don’t have a choice.”

Zuko laughed under his breath.

As they drifted back to sleep, something occurred to Toph. Maybe she didn’t need a life changing field trip after all. Maybe Zuko needed one.

And maybe, just maybe, she had been the one to travel with him.

**Author's Note:**

> did I mention I love them <3


End file.
